The London Marathon has been postponed until October.
Originally scheduled to take place on April 26, it will now take place on October 4 due to the coronavirus pandemic, event director Hugh Brasher has confirmed.
He said: “The world is in an unprecedented situation grappling with a global pandemic of COVID-19 and public health is everyone’s priority.
“We know how disappointing this news will be for so many – the runners who have trained for many months, the thousands of charities for which they are raising funds and the millions who watch the race every year.
“We are extremely grateful for all the support we have received from City Hall, the London boroughs of Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, the City of Westminster and the City of London, Transport for London, the emergency services, The Royal Parks, BBC TV and many others as we worked to find an alternative date.
"The 40th Race is scheduled to go ahead on Sunday 4 October 2020.
“We know that there will be many, many questions from runners, charities and others and we ask you to please bear with us as we work through the detailed planning process to deliver the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon on its new scheduled date.
"We will email all runners and charities today and then update them via email by the end of next week at the latest. We will also post regular updates on our website and social media channels.”
It has been confirmed that every runner with a place in this year's even will still be able to take their spot in the rescheduled event.
All runners who have a place but cannot take part will receive a full refund of their 2020 entry fee.
Additionally, those who wish can instead donate their entry fee to The London Marathon Charitable Trust.
Head of Public Fundraising at RNIB, Alex McDowell said: “We respect the difficult decision taken by the London Marathon organisers, who have the best interests of the public in mind during this unprecedented global pandemic.
“Although we are disappointed for all our runners in Team RNIB who have been fundraising and training hard to take part in the April event, we thank them for their support so far and look forward to cheering them over the finish line in October.
“We are currently reaching out to our runners to keep them updated with the latest news we have and will continue to support them as we work together to break down barriers facing blind and partially sighted people across the UK.”
